Top 5 ways to make your tank sexier…TODAY!
- Break out the razor blades. I’m not telling you to shave off that goe-y that you’ve been working on for months, but do scrape off the algae on your glass that you can’t get with your mag-float. You’ll be amazed at how much clearer your tank looks.
- Break up your dosing. Instead of dosing your tank with all your supplements at one time, break up your dosing into two smaller dosings. Doing smaller but more frequent amounts will help your tank be more stable and avoid large swings in parameters which means happier, more colorful corals.
- Cut back on your feeding. I assert that 90% of tank dabblers, reef enthusiasts and even reef junkies feed their fish and corals too much. More food means more nutrients that your tank has to process which means increased chances of nitrates and phosphates. Your fish will be fine on less and your tank will thank you.
- Replace your lights if they are over 6 months old. Light bulbs wear out just like tires on cars…a little bit over time so that you don’t notice they are aging. I replaced my actinic lights this week and was amazed at how much brighter my tank was. You’ll also avoid issues with nuisance algae and bleaching corals due to aging bulbs.
- Start 3 days of darkness. Yes, you’ll have to deal with looking at a dark tank for 3 days, but after it is over, you’ll have killed off nearly all nuisance algae in your tank. And your corals will be brighter too. Did I mention you’ll save money on your power bill as well?
Hey Mark,
I was just curious in regards to the three days of darkness.. Does that include no actinics/moonlights as well? Also, does it have any effect on the fish? I just ordered my new bulbs and am switching from 10k to 14k halides.. Do you think that 3 days of darkness and then an immediate switch to the 14k will be too much change all at once? Sorry for all the questions.. Haha I’m tring to battle some cyano in my tank so I’m installing gfo and carbon reactors today, then waiting patiently for the 14k bulbs I ordered yesterday to arrive in the mail..
As always, thanks a lot for your input!!!
Betillo
Betillo…I turn everything off. Moonlights don’t count tho. When you switch to 14K make sure you re-acclimate your corals to them
Thanks again, Mark! I’m 1.5 days in… I’m really hoping to see some good results with the three days of darkness.. I just read through all 42 pages of a thread on reef central last night.. hopefully I’ll have some similar results as some of the amazing tanks on there too!
Betillo
how often should I run the tank with 3 days of darkness?
I do it whenever it is needed. It’s not a scheduled thing Jason.
Hi Mark,
Do you recommend a water change after the 3 days of darkness? If so, how much?
Thanks,
Aaron
Follow-up question: Should I also turn off the lights in my refugium? I’ve heard that doing this might cause a pH spike.
Aaron…a 20% won’t hurt. After 3DD, there can be a lot of dead stuff (algae, etc) in your tank that you want out before it becomes food for algae to grow again. Keep your fuge light on
Hi Mark,
I wasn’t to sure if I understood one of the earlier post but can I leave my actinics on during the 3DD? Also should I do it if I just recently fraged one of my corals?
Thanks,
Adrian
Is there a specific strategy for turning the lights back on after the 3DD? just started mine and got a phosphate reactor and all like your video on YouTube.
Thanks.